Airship



Aug. 25, 1925.

AIHSHIP 1,550,797 7 o. GEISLER v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 1 1924 'O. GE/SLEB BY M7 ATTORNEYS 244. AERONAUTICS Aug. 25, 1925; 1,550,797

0. GEISLER AinsmP Filed Nov. 17. 1924 2 Sheet-Sh'eet 2 I INVENTOR Q. QfiisLEa BY WWW/1 0 ATTORNEYS 244. AtHUNAU l I D Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO GEISLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AIRSHIP.

Application filed November 17, 1924. Serial No. 750,398.

To all whom it may. concern:

Be it known that I, OTTo GEIsLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois,

have invented a new and useful Improve.- -'ment in Airships, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. My invention relates to improvements in airships, and particularly to a type of airship which is common to the lighter than air class and the heavier than air class, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is toprovide a device embodying the advantages of the alighter than air class as to lifting powen and the speed and rigidity of the heavier than air craft.

A further object of my invention is to provide an airship which is sustained in flight even though the gas is permitted to escape as by bullet holes or the like in case of use of the craft for war purposes.

A further object of my invention is to provide an airship of the type described which is sustained in flight and which may glide to a landing position without the help of its motors. This is especially useful in the case of exhaustion of fuel, and low gas pressure.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which the peculiar construction of the wings lends extreme rigidity to the body, thus permitting an extremely long relatively slender body, desirable for speed and great lifting ower.

A further object of my invention is to provide an airship of the type described which is so constructed as to permit its landing upon water and which is capable of taxing upon water considerable distances in an emergency.

A further object of my invention is to provide an airship of the type described in which especially novel construction is employed for fixing the thin metal plates forming the body walls to their supports, and for generally reenforcing the body walls.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which novel means is employed for steering the ship while in the air or upon the water if for some unforeseen reason the lateral rudder is crippled.

Other objects and advantages will appear 1n the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pomted out in the appended claims.

My lnvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of my invention, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the ship shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 38 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line H of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 55 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a sectional view along the line 66 of Figure 2,

Flgure 7 is a top plan view of a portion of the prow.

In carrying out my invention I make use of an elongated body 1 which is constructed about a plurality of annular ribs 2 spaced substantially ten feet apart throughout the length of the body 1. The ribs 2 are substantially in cross sectional contour as shown in Figure 5, and have a depression 3 in their outer peripheral wall extending the entire circumference of the ribs.

Duralumin sheeting is secured by rivets 5 directly to the ribs 2 forming a gas-tight body member 1. These sheets are approximately one-sixty-fourth of an inch in thickness or less, and extend substantially radially from diametrically opposite sides of the body, to form wings 6. The framework 7 is disposed within the wing portion 6 for strengthening the wings. Gas admitted to the interior of the body 1 is free to seek its way, and does occupy the entire area of the body as well as the interior portions of the wing 6. Thus the lifting power of my im proved airship is greatly increased, and I compensate to some extent for the additional weight of the wing portions 6.

Suitable guy braces 8 are employed for relieving the body member 1 of unnecessary strain. Stateroom walls 9 and passage walls 10 are provided at suitable places throughout the length of the body member 1 and within the body and sealed so that no gases may seek their way through the walls to cause serious injury to occupants of the compartment.

An observation passage 11, also sealed from the gas space is projected up through the body member and through the adjacent wing 6 and communicates with one of the staterooms 9 at one end and with the upper surface of the wing at the opposite end. It should be understood of course that several of these passages 11 would be required at various portions of the ship for observation purposes.

A relatively sharp pointed prow 12 is provided at the forward end of the ship and is substantially one-fifth of the length of the entire ship. The wing structure 6, as reference to Figure 1 will show, is slightly above the longitudinal axis of the body 1 at the prow portion 13, and is below the longitudinal axis of the body at its stern end 1 1 Thus the wings incline slightly throughout their length toward the prow.

In Figure 7 I have shown a top plan view of the prow of the ship in which it will be noted that the Wings 6 taper at the prow toward the axis of the ship, thus lowering wind resistance at the prow to a minimum.

My improved airship is provided with a water-tight hollow keel member 15 eXtending the entire length of the ship from the innermost end of the prow portion 12 to the stern. This keel is highly buoyant, and serves the purpose of a pontoon by means of which the ship may rest upon the surface of water as in emergency, or marine landing, and by means of which the ship may take off from the water.

The driving power of the ship is derived from ten low speed internal combustion engines 16 disposed at regular intervals throughout the length of the ship. The propeller blades 17 are relatively short and revolve about an axis disposed slightly above the lowermost portion 18 of the keel 15. In order that the propellers may properly drive the ship, the portion of the keel 15 immediately at the rear of the propeller 17 is tapered as shown at 18. The propellers 17 may be operated simultaneously or only certain numbers may be operated, while others are in repair or silence.

The keel 15 has a marine rudder 20 at the stern thereof by means of which the ship may be guided in its course when taxiing upon the water.

Means for guiding the ship during its course in the air is provided in a vertical plane or rudder 21 which is actuated from the pilot house of the ship.

Means for guiding the ship as to altitude is provided in horizontal planes or rudders 22 disposed on opposite sides of the vertical plane 21. These planes are likewise operated from the pilot house of the ship.

If for any unforseen reason the plane or rudder 21 should become disabled, hatchways 23, one on each side of the ship at the stern thereof, are opened, and an engine 24, pivotally mounted so that it can be swung through a horizontal plane and guided upon a quadrant 25, is actuated. This motor 24; carries a propeller 26 upon its shaft, which forces air at high pressure through the hatchways 23, thus serving to force the stern of the ship sideways in such a manner as to guide the ship in its horizontal course.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. In preparing my improved airship for flight, I fill the entire body member 1 and internal wing spaces with helium gas or other suitable gas. The ship in this condition is sufficiently light to rise vertically from the earth when released from her mooring cable. In flight, two, four, five, or all of the engines 16 may be in operation. For full speed all of the engines should be operated at maximum speed, which is relatively less in R. P. M. than the standard aircraft motor.

The ship is not intended for relatively fast vertical ascent because of the wings 6, although a slow ascent may be accomplished with grace. Ordinarily in taking off, the ship is moved forward with the vertical planes or rudder 22 inclined upwardly from the stern. Thus the prow of the ship is nosed up, and the wings compel movement of the ship in that direction.

From inspection of Figure 1, it will be noted that the ship is relatively slender in cross section, and therefore capable of enormous speed when driven by all of the motors employed.

Let us assume now that the ship is engaged in war or that for some unforeseen reason the greater portion or all of the gas has escaped from the body. This is quite likely in the case of an engagement in battle, where powerful anti-aircraft guns are employed. The ship may then glide to safety upon its wings 6 and if the landing is compelled upon water, it may do so with ease because of the provision of the buoyant keel 15. Let us assume for the purpose of illustration that it is landed upon a body of water. The ship is steered in its course by the rudder 20.

Let us further assume that the rudder 21 is disabled, and that the craft is in the air. It then becomes necessary to steer the course of the ship, and tothis end the hatchways 23 are opened and the engine 24 is placed in operation. Movement of the entire engine upon its pivotal support along the 244. AERONAUTICS quadrant 25 will cause air to be blown out through the hatchways selectively, depending upon the position of the motor, in such a way as to actually steer the ship in its course.

It will be noted that the entire gas containing portions of my improved ship are constructed of metal and therefore substantially rigid. This construction eliminates entirely the wear ordinarily found in gas containing portions of the non-rigid and semi-rigid airships due to vibration of the fabric when the ship is in flight. It is not uncommon to discover in ships of the latter type that the internal layers of fabric are worn beyond repair while the exterior layers or visible layers are in good condition. This latent defect has brought disaster in certain cases which were ordinarily unaccounted for.

I claim:

1. An airship of the type described com prising a hollow elongated body member, wings extending longitudinally of said body member on either side thereof, said wings being disposed slightly above the axis of the body member at the prow of the ship and slightly below the axis of the body member at the stern, lateral and inclination rudders for steering the course of the ship in the air, a buoyant keel extending longitudinally of the ship by means of which the ship may rest upon the water, and a rudder for steering the ship while upon the water.

2. An airship of the type described com prising a hollow elongated body member, wings extending longitudinally of said body member on either side thereof, said wings being disposed slightly above the axis of the body member at the prow of the ship and slightly below the axis of the body member at the stern, lateral and inclination rudders for steering the course of the ship in the air, a buoyant keel extending longitudinally of the ship by means of which the ship may rest upon the water, a rudder for steering the ship while upon the Water, and means for propelling the ship through the air.

3. An airship of the type described comprising a substantially cylindrical gas tight body member, having a pointed prow portion, wings formed integral with said body member, the space on the interior of said wings communicating directly with the space on the interior of said body portion, lighter than air gas disposed in said body portion and in said Wings, said wings extending substantially the entire length of the body portion at diametrically opposite sides thereof and being of lesser width than the width of the body portion, means for propelling the ship through the air, a water tight keel secured to the lower portion of said body member and extending longitudinally of said body member substantially the entire length thereof whereby the ship may rest upon the surface of water, and a rudder for steering the ship while upon the water.

4. An airship of the type described comprising a substantially cylindrical gas-tight body member having a pointed prow portion, wings formed integral with the body member disposed on either side of the body member substantially in a plane including the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical body member, the space on the interior of said wings communicating directly with the space on the interior of said body member, said wings being substantially the entire length of the body member and being disposed above the longitudinal axis of the body member at the prow, said wings being formed with depressions on the under side thereof extending the entire length of the wings, and means for propelling the ship through the air.

OTTO GEISLER. 

